Process of vapor generation.



N0. 705,306. Patented'luly 22, I902.

A. SCHARFFE.

PROCESS OF VAPOR GENERATION.

Application filed 'Aug. 21, 1900.)

(No Model.)

1: News pnzns co, murauma. msmnmuu. u. c.

UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLF SOHARFFE, OF TIEN TS'IN, CHINA.

PROCESS OF VAPOR GENERATION.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters l?atent N0. 705,306,da.ted July22, 1902.

Application filed August 21, 1900.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADOLF SOHARFFE, civil engineer, a subject of, theGerman Emperor, residing at Tientsin, in the Chinese Empire, haveinvented a certain new and useful Process of Vapor Generation, of whichthe follow.- ing is a specificationi It is well known that the usualapparatus for generating the motive power for driving machinery are asource of danger in all works, as the total power to be distributed tothe several engines and apparatus is stored in a large quantity in oneplace. It is immaterial Whether steam or gas pressure is used,whetherthe plant is large or small, or confined to a single motor. Evenelectricity is not excepted it generated by means of steam. The largerthe generator is the greater is the danger of explosion; but even in thesmallest generator of motive power there is always stored such an excessof energy that in case of an explosion the health and life of theattendants are endangered.

The object of this invention is chiefly to remove this danger, which ,isefi'ected by completely avoiding the use of stations or apparatus inwhich astorage of motive power takes placeas, for instance, insteam-boilersand by generating the required motive agentfor driving theengine or the like by means ofthe 7 same in such small quantities onlyas are required for producing the power during a unit oftime-forinstance, one stroke'of the steamengine piston. This is done byemploying two diiferent media, one of which, hereinafter calledheatingliquid, possesses a higher boiling-point than theother,hereinafter called working medium, and heating the heating liquidin open or closed vessels to near its boiling-point, but in any caseabove the boiling-point of the working medium, conducting the heatingliquid and working medium separately to the motor or engine, and mixingthe two substances only just before or even in the engine in such smallquantities that the steam or gas developed from the working mediumpossessesthe required pressure for performing the desired amount ofwork, but that no storage of energy capable of causing danger takesplace in the mixing-chamber Serial N6. 27,559. (No specimens.)

for the heating liquid and Working medium. The heatingliquid therebyreduced in temperature'is then returned to the heating vessel in orderto be used over again, while the exhaust from the motor is condensed,and the working medium regained in this way is employed again inthemanner above described. The heating liquid may be a liquid atordinary temperatures before it is heated or may be produced for use bymelting solid substances.

Whether a working medium is added to the heating liquid in the form of aliquid of lower boiling-point or of a gas or a gas absorbed in a liquidis immaterial as far as this invention is concerned, as a preferablyslightly compressed gas on being mixed with the heating liquid obtains ahigher pressure and can be used similarly to steam. Even saltsevaporating readily without leaving a residue could be used as Workingmedium. For the sake of convenience the'evaporated working medium ishereinafter called steam, but may be a gas, as stated.

Themixing of the heating liquid and working medium for producing thesteam can be effected, as stated above, in a separate vessel or in theengine-cylinder itself or in the piping leading to the engine.

In describing the novel method and its application the source of powerhas hereinbefore been designated by the general term of working medium,because the latter may be a liquid or a gas or even a salt evaporatingwithout residue. When compressed or liquefied gases areused as workingmedium, they are condensed by a special pump after passing through thecondenser or the heater and condenser, or the latter only are arrangedsion is only to obtain a larger efiect with small quantities of theworking medium, for in the engine only the diiference in the pres* suresof the cold and heated gas is utilized.

The special result of the novel method consists in the removal of alldanger of explosion, and while in practice hitherto an excessively highpressure of steam had to be avoided, chiefly in consequence of theinsecurity of the dangerous boilers, this danger is entirely obviated bythe use of the new process. The heater for the heating medium can haveany size, as there is no pressure in it likely to become dangerous,while the parts in which pressureis produced can be made of so small adiameter that they are perfectlysafe against explosion under the highestpressure. If, nevertheless, an explosion should occur throughinsufficient strength of the walls, it can act destructivelyonly to avery small degree, as only small quantities of steam are present.

The heating liquid may be an oil which has aboiling-point higher thanthat of water, and the working liquid may then be water, and in thedescription hereinafter given of the apparatus which is shown in theaccompanying drawing it will be assumed that the heating and the workingliquids are respectively such as oil and water.

The said drawing shows one form of apparatus for applying this inventionin longitudinal vertical section, but with certain parts in elevation.

Referring to the said drawing, the heating medium and the working mediumare brought together in the engine cylinder or motor 8, so that themotive power is generated in said cylinder. The heating medium placed inthe receptacle 1,which is provided with the standpipe 2, is forced bypump 4 through pipes 3 and 5 and branch 20 into the passages of thevalve-chamber of the motor 8. At the same time the working medium isforced by pump 6 through pipe 9 from the condenser and passes throughpipes 7 and 21 into the said valve-chamber passages of the motor, sothat the two mediums are mixed and the vaporization of the workingmedium is started just before the mediums enter the cylinder. The valves11 and 12 admit the mixture into the cylinder above or below the piston,according to the position of the latter, while the exhaust and theheating medium reduced in temperature passes through the valves 13 and14, through branch 22 and pipe 15, into the separator 16. The exhaustheating medium collecting in the separator passes through pipe 17 intothe heating vessel 1, while the exhaust working medium flows throughpipe 18 into the condenser 10 and is there condensed and then againpasses into the engine 8 by means of pumps 6.

The pumps a and 6 are in the present case driven in the well-knownmanner by the main shaft of the engine. Pump 4 may be omitted, as thepower-cylinder will at the beginning of the stroke draw in suflicientquantity of the heating medium, whereupon pump 6 will then supply theworking medium. Preferably the pumps are provided with safetyvalves, sothat when the pressure of the liquid exceeds a predetermined degree thesame is directly returned to the vessel without being mixed. It isobvious that instead of pumps other feeding apparatus may be used.

If oil is used as heating medium and water as working medium, it willnot be necessary to condense the exhaust-steam if circumstances shouldnot allow of having the necessary cooling-water for condensation or ifthe exhaust-steam can be otherwise used.

A variety of mediums may be used as heating and as working mediums, forit is only essential that the heating medium should have a higherboiling-point than the working medium, and a liquid serving in one caseas heating medium may be used in another case as working medium, theheating medium in every case having a higher boiling-point than theworking medium. If, for instance, water is used as heating medium andether as working medium, water may be used in another case as workingmedium if, as stated above, oil is used as heating medium. Any liquidmay be used that will not injuriously affect the pipes and engine. It iseven possible in one machine to use one and the same liquid both asheating and as working medium if, for instance, the water used asheating medium is mixed with salts and the like that will cause theboiling-point to become higher, while the water to be used as workingmedium is left in its original condition. Vapors may also be used asworking medium when, for instance, liquid ammonia is used as workingmedium and Water as heating medium. In this case as soon as the waterheated near to its boiling-point is mixed to the liquid ammonia theammonia is set free and works as a gas, while the water from which theammonia escapes is exhausted together wit-h the water used as heatingmedium.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is-

1. The process of generating steam or gases for power hereinbefore setforth, and consisting in mixing a medium having a high boiling-point andwhich is heated to a temperature below that point with a small quantityof another medium which has a boiling-point below the temperature of thefirst-named medium just prior to the introduction of said media into themotor, thereby vaporizing the said last-named medium, then drawing themedia into a motor and operating said motor by the pressure of thevaporized medium, and then returning the first-named media to the placeof heating, and so on in continuous succession.

2. The process of generating steam or gases for power hereinbefore setforth, and consisting in mixing a medium having a high boiling-point andwhich is heated to a tempera ture below said boiling-point with a smallquantity of a medium which has a boilingpoint below the temperature ofthe first-named medium just prior to the introduction of said media intothe motor, thereby vaporizing the said last-named medium, then drawingsaid last-named medium into a motor and there operating said motor bythe pressure of the vaporized medium, then removing the lastnamed mediumfrom the said motor, andso on in continuous succession.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto setmy hand in presence of twowitnesses.

ADOLF SOHARFFE.

Witnesses:

HENRY HASPER, W. KUTZKE.

